(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP) and a PDP driving method.
(b) Description of the Related Art
The POP is a flat panel display that uses plasma generated via a gas discharge process to display characters or images. Depending on the size of the POP, tens to millions of pixels (i.e., picture elements) are provided, arranged in a matrix format. POPs are categorized as either Direct Current (DC) or Alternating Current (AC) PDPs, depending on the voltage waveforms used to drive the PDP and the structure of the individual discharge cells.
In general, the AC PDP driving method uses sequential reset periods, address periods, and sustain periods. During the reset period, wall charges formed by a previous sustain are erased, and cells are reset so as to perform the next address operation readily. During the address period, cells that are to be activated and those that are to remain inactive are selected, and wall charges are accumulated in the activated cells (i.e., addressed cells). During the sustain period, a discharge is created in the addressed cells in order to display images. When the sustain period begins, sustain pulses are alternately applied to the scan electrodes and sustain electrodes to perform the sustaining operation and, thus, display the images.
Conventionally, a ramp waveform is applied to a scan electrode so as to establish wall charges in the reset period. More particularly, a gradually rising ramp waveform is applied to the scan electrode, followed by a gradually falling ramp waveform. Typically, precise control over the wall charges depends on the gradient of the ramp.